Respected Brazilian coach Tiago Nunes insists Bruno Guimaraes is the best player he has ever worked with. Newcastle United shelled out £35million to lure the highly-rated midfielder from Lyon in January.
Since the move, the 24-year-old has emerged as the latest cult hero at St James’ Park. A new-found goalscoring ability combined with silky midfield displays have endeared the Brazilian to Toon supporters.
Guimaraes has forged a strong rapport with compatriot Joelinton while all but cementing - barring injury - his place in Brazil’s squad for the upcoming World Cup. While little was known about the midfielder’s talents in England before this year, one man who knows him best always drooled over his ability.
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Nunes coached Guimaraes as he broke through the Atlético Paranaense ranks in 2017. Scouts across Europe quickly became aware of the young maestro and Lyon proved his next destination.
Now, in an interview with Spanish outlet Sport, his former mentor - who has coached Brazilian stars Renan Lodi and Douglas Costa - named the Magpies’ man as his best student. Nunes said: “Bruno Guimaraes without a doubt (best player he has managed). He is a very complete midfielder who seems to have four eyes.
“He plays with a camera above his head, he has 360-degree vision. I remember, when I had him at Paranaense, that Benfica asked me if he had the level and I told them no, that he had the level to play for Barça, Madrid and Mars if he wanted to. But they didn’t sign him and he went first to France and then to England.”
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